Stolen Hearts
by sweetjujubee
Summary: A final goodbye between Errol and Hedwig. People aren't the only ones who experience emotions...


Title: **Stolen Hearts**   
  
Author's Notes: This is the second in a series of short fics. I'm just working my way up to my bigger projects. Right now, I'm laying the ground work for an eight part romance fic (two couples are involved, but I'll let you guess who they are...), and I have plans for another long fic which will be at least 15 chapters (_I hope_). I hope you enjoy this fic and will read my longer fic when I write them. Happy reading!   
  
Disclaimer: I don't know if you've heard of her, but there's this woman named J.K. Rowling who writes some series about a boy named Harry Potter. I know they're not that popular or anything, but this fic uses characters from her books. None of them belong to me. They all belong to this J.K. Rowling person.   
  
***   
  
Someting was moving on the ground. From atop the highest branches of an old willow tree, a pair of yellow eyes followed a trail of moving grass in an empty field.   
  
"SCREEEEEEEEE!" Errol cried as he dove for the mouse hidden beneath the grass. He felt his talons clamp onto to a long, cold, scaly body. Errol's eyes widen and he tried too let go. He was to late. A pair of long, hard, poisonous fangs bit into his tender stomach.   
  
"REEEEEEE!" Errol screamed. He pecked as hard as he could at the triangular snake head that was biting into his body. The snake thrashed, gouging deeper and deeper into his stomach. Crying fiercely, Errol gave the snake a powerful bite just beneath its neck. The snake stopped thrashing.   
  
The aged owl looked down at its belly and saw that the snake head had been severed from its body, but it was still attached to his wound. He brought his wing to it, and gently brushed it.   
  
"SCREEEEE!" The pain was too much. He could feel a burning fire spread from the bite in his stomach. With each movement, the fangs inside his wound bit deeper into his nerve endings. Errol couldn't fly, he couldn't remove the snake head, and he couldn't stop the poison from spreading throughout his body. Errol Weasly was about to die.   
  
***   
  
A beautiful snowy owl flew across the sky carrying a package in her claws. Hedwig was so proud of herself. Hermione was visiting Chicago this summer, and Hedwig had been able to fly all the way across the Atlantic Ocean and back to get Harry's present from her. This year, Harry's gift was a book. Hermione had told her the title just before tying the package to her legs. It was "A Guide to the Brooms of Professional Quidditch". Harry was sure to love it.   
  
As Hedwig flew the remaining 25 miles back to Privet Drive, she caught the scent of fresh blood rising from a nearby field. The smell was so familiar...   
  
She changed her course and flew to the grassy opening. The scent of blood got stronger and she followed it until she found the source.   
  
Lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood was Errol Weasly. Hooting frantically, Hedwig landed beside the wounded owl. She shrieked loudly into his ear and gently pecked him on the head. Errol slowly opened his eyes and feebly hooted.   
  
"Get the snake head out of me," he whispered to Hedwig. The snowy owl needed to be very deliacate about this, but the package tied to her legs was weighing her down. Quickly, she began to bite at the strings attaching her to the book. As soon as she freed herself, she hopped closer to Errol and inspected the head. The snake was holding on by its two front fangs only. Carefully, Hedwig grasped the severed head and eased it out of the wound.   
  
Errol was crying again, but Hedwig tried to ignore it as she finished extracting the snake from the wound. It was finally out, and she tossed it aside.   
  
"How long has it been since the snake bit you?" Hedwig asked her aged friend.   
  
Errol shut his eyes and thought. "I might have passed out at one point, but it has been at least 30 mins."   
  
Hediwg looked away. Errol would be dead in ten minutes. A coral snake had bit him. The red bands had been next to the yellow bands, and like the rhyme said, "Red on yellow will kill a fellow."   
  
Don't worry Errol. I'll find some help." Hedwig spread her wings to fly, but Errol's weakened call stopped her.   
  
"Hedwig. Please don't leave me. I know I'm dying, and I don't want to be alone." The old owl extended a wing, and Hedwig went to him and took it.   
  
"I need to tell you something," Errol whispered. The snowy female looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "You've stolen something from me Hedwig, and I was hoping I could do the same."   
  
"Shhh...Errol. You're not making any sense." She stroked the feathers on his head and gave his paw a comforting squeeze.   
  
"No Hedwig. I know exactly what I'm saying." He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. "You've stolen my heart, and I hope that I can take yours."   
  
Hedwig felt her breath catch in her throat. Her heartbeat quicked, and she hoped Errol couldn't feel her racing pulse through their wings.   
  
"Errol, I--"   
  
"Wait. Don't talk. Just listen to me. Since the day I met you at the Burrow three years ago, I knew that I loved you. I was ecstatic when you first shared my water bowl with me. My feelings haven't changed since then. I still care about you. You will always been my best friend, but I hoped that we might have ended up together. I guess that we have no chance now, but I hope you'll do me one favor. Please keep the heart that you have stolen from me." Errol's wing slipped out of Hedwig's wing, and she let it fall to the ground. Hedwig stayed where she was for over an hour, letting more and more tears fall for her dead friend.   
  
A bright ray of light began to appear from the horizon. It was almost daytime. Hedwig wiped her tears and looked at Errol one last time.   
  
"I'll keep your heart safe Errol, if you promise to do the same with mine." She gave him a final kiss, picked up Harry's birthday gift, and flew off into the direction of the rising sun.   
  
The End 


End file.
